Raw Intel

Russian officials say a volunteer air defense unit in Kursk Region shot down a Ukrainian FP-5 Flamingo cruise missile using machine-gun fire during an overnight attack this weekend, an unusual claim for a weapon Russia has typically engaged with surface-to-air missile systems. Kursk Region Governor Aleksandr Khinshtein said the intercept happened overnight Saturday into Sunday, […]View the full article

Shipbuilders at BAE Systems Australia laid the keel of NUSHIP Hunter on August 24, 2026, marking the formal start of hull assembly on the first ship in Australia’s Hunter class frigate program. The ceremony took place at the Osborne Naval Shipyard in South Australia. Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy and Chief of Navy Vice […]View the full article

The European Commission approved €6.1 billion ($7.12 billion) in new defense procurement funding for Ukraine on August 24, 2026, the same day Ukraine marked its Independence Day. The money covers air and missile defense systems, missiles, ammunition and radars. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen tied the timing directly to the war. “On Ukraine’s Independence […]View the full article

For me, it is funny but serious that the phrase I started saying in 2019 that we were going to keep building Arleigh Burke DDGs “until the crack of doom” has turned into prophecy. With the anticipated death of DDG(X) and FFG-62, the Burkes are about the only game in town. That fact naturally flows into a point we have raised here and on the Midrats Podcast for the last couple of decades: How are we going to conduct repair and maintenance under combat conditions should we find ourselves in a fight west of the International Date Line? Well, we’ve got the perfect intersection of both issues for the next episode of Midrats. This RAND Report from May caught my eye: The Arle…

A Ford F-250 that can drive itself carried a shotgun-armed drone-killing turret onto a live-fire range at Fort Bragg on August 18, 2026, the latest test in a U.S. Army program built to get engineers out of the blast radius during breaching operations. The vehicle, tested at Range 63 as part of Project Sandhills 2.0, […]View the full article

The U.S. Navy has awarded Zone 5 Technologies a $65 million contract to build a maritime strike variant of its AGM-188 Rusty Dagger cruise missile under a new program aimed at fielding low-cost precision weapons for the U.S. and its allies. The award is an Other Transaction Agreement, a contracting mechanism the Pentagon uses to […]View the full article

Kongsberg has signed a contract worth NOK 1.1 billion, about $118.4 million, to supply additional PROTECTOR RS4 Remote Weapon Systems to General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada for the Canadian Army’s Armoured Combat Support Vehicle program. The Norwegian defense company said the deal is a follow-on order building on previous RS4 deliveries for the same program. Kongsberg […]View the full article

Supacat has opened a new production facility at its headquarters in Devon, England, naming the building after company co-founder Nick Jones. The British vehicle manufacturer said Maj. Gen. Chris King cut the ribbon at the opening, which the company described as marking the launch of a facility expansion. Supacat did not disclose the size of […]View the full article

The U.S. Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory has completed technical acceptance of the first Ancillary Surface Craft prototype, moving the roughly 150-foot vessel into a new phase of testing at Quantico, Virginia, the laboratory said in a release. The ASC is a roll-on/roll-off landing craft designed to carry personnel, equipment, and fuel directly onto unimproved shorelines, […]View the full article

The U.S. Marine Corps has awarded Accrete a contract to deliver an artificial intelligence platform designed to track and analyze narratives across social media, broadcast outlets, and messaging platforms in near real time. The contract covers Argus for Cognitive Advantage, a system built on Accrete’s Knowledge Engine platform. Accrete describes Knowledge Engines as tools that […]View the full article

Houthi media released footage this week showing a Rajum quadcopter dropping a munition onto a Royal Saudi Land Forces M1A2S Abrams main battle tank at a forward position in Marib, Yemen, followed by an explosion and a fire that engulfed the vehicle. The video has not been independently verified, and neither the Saudi-led coalition nor […]View the full article

Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, the Main Directorate of Intelligence, known as HUR, said Friday that Russia has built a secret military complex of biological laboratories on an island in the Tver region, where it experiments with dangerous viruses and other pathogens on behalf of the armed forces. HUR identified the facility as the “Center for […]View the full article

No more complaining about a long Sea & Anchor detail. What a great story about a frigate ... and three hurricanes. Read the full thing, but here is how it starts; THE 24-gun frigate H.M.S. Experiment was built in 1740 by Henry Bird of Rotherhithe. She sailed on her maiden voyage on 21 July 1740 from Spithead to join Vice-Admiral Vernon’s squadron in the West Indies. Her captain was James Rentone, who had piloted Vernon’s squadron into Portobello Harbour and had been given the honour of bearing the news of Vernon’s victory to the king. George II had rewarded him with a present of 200 guineas and the promise of a 6o-gun ship. Under his command H.M.S. Experiment had n…

Saab has released the first public look at its concept for a Collaborative Combat Aircraft, an unmanned fighter designed to fly alongside crewed jets. The video shows an aircraft marked A3-01, featuring a delta-wing design, a single jet engine, and two intakes positioned on either side of the fuselage. The airframe shows visible attention to […]View the full article

The U.S. Navy is asking industry for ideas on a replacement for the Evolved SeaSparrow Missile, the ship-defense weapon used by a dozen NATO navies to shoot down anti-ship missiles and aircraft. The Naval Sea Systems Command posted a sources sought notice on Aug. 20 seeking companies capable of designing, building, and supporting what the […]View the full article

POLARIS Spaceplanes has flown its COBRA prototype for the first time, covering more than 20 km in what the German company described as a smooth flight. The German aerospace firm announced the milestone in a social media post, saying additional test flights are planned in the coming months and that video footage would follow in […]View the full article

Ukraine’s Defense Forces have added the Alexa Spatium, a jet-powered drone built to intercept small aerial, ground, and surface targets, to their arsenal, according to a Ukrainian defense outlet on Aug. 21. The turbojet-powered aircraft was developed by Ukrainian engineers specifically to counter fast, low-flying threats in combat conditions. Its primary targets are Russia’s Shahed-type […]View the full article

General Atomics has won a $42.9 million U.S. Navy order for spare parts supporting the electromagnetic catapults and arresting gear on the service’s in-service Ford-class carriers. The order, designated N0001926F1037, was issued against an existing basic ordering agreement, N0001926G1008. It covers insurance spares and rotable pool spares for the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System, known as […]View the full article

A second Boeing KC-46 “Gideon” aerial refueling aircraft landed at Nevatim Airbase and joined the Israeli Air Force’s 46 Squadron, the service said Friday. The aircraft is the second of six KC-46 tankers Israel’s Ministry of Defense has purchased through the Pentagon’s Foreign Military Sales process. It joins the “Gideon” Squadron, formally Squadron 46, which […]View the full article

General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems Defense Research Institute Inc., of Anniston, Alabama, has been awarded a $41.57 million contract modification to build 559 warhead cases and 559 fuzewells for the U.S. Navy’s Tactical Tomahawk missile. The modification, designated P00016, adds the work to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract, N6893619C0039. It covers production and delivery […]View the full article